The ABCs of Kagome Higurashi
by RuneYue
Summary: Twenty-six drabbles, one for each letter of the alphabet, centering around the modern time traveling miko and guardian of the Shikon Jewel! Various themes, genres and parings.
1. Anger

**Title:** Anger**  
Series: **InuYasha**  
Parings/Characters:** Kagome, InuYasha and Shippou, in passing.**  
Disclaimer:** InuYasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.**  
Rating/Warnings:** T or PG-13, to play it safe on the language front.**  
Dedication:** The Kagome fans of the InuYasha fandom.**  
Summary:** _The greatest force to be reckoned with in the Feudal Era was not a demon, but one angry twentieth century miko._

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To say that Kagome Higurashi was annoyed was like saying that a flood might end up getting things, people and places kind of wet. It only made sense if you weren't near the flood, or in this case, the general cause of her annoyance.

"Sit, sit, sit, sit, sit!",she yelled, not caring if she particularly sounded quite the deal like a banshee. She had earned the right to sound like a banshee!

InuYasha was acting like an idiot! Again!

The fact that he had no idea what he had done, again, made no difference.

Stupid wasn't a justified reason for acting like an ass when you just plain never learned from anything. In fact, Kagome was becoming more and more convinced that he only learned from situations when survival came into play.

"Augh! Ka-go-me!",InuYasha yelled, putting emphasis on each syllable of her name the way he usually did when he felt particularly righteous over some matter or the other.

The usual Kagome would of turned around with a little _"Hmph!"_ and went on her merry way to ignore InuYasha at every turn until he apologized or did something for her whilst laying on a guilt trip of how hard it had been to accomplish. IE; saving her life, saving Shippou's life, slaying a demon, falling into the hot springs because he was 'guarding' her from perverted monks who just so happened to know better...

The angry, current Kagome simply put her hands on her hips and glared him down.

InuYasha gulped and tried to glare her right back down, but some little nagging voice in the back of his mind, probably his self preservation, was sending up a high alarm of caution and general 'You are about to enter a dangerous and possibly lethal territory' warnings. He quickly dismissed this as taking one too man 'Sits' to the head.

He had quickly made yet another mistake.

"But Kagome!",he began, whiningly. "You can't go home for another of those useless tests! We need someone to detect the jewel and without you her---"

"SIT!"

The resulting sound echoed off of every surrounding mountain and no one could particularly blame the twentieth century miko as she grabbed her bag, her adoptive kit, Shippou, and made her way back to the well possibly never to come back.

Off in the distance a muffled groan could be heard emanating from below the earth, undoubtedly from the massive crater that InuYasha was currently at the bottom of.

The rational part of Kagome's friends, the ones who truly knew her, knew that she would come back, on her own of course, because she had vowed countless times to defeat their greatest enemy, Naraku and, unlike InuYasha, the feeling of friendship was often reciprocated. However the sane part of them knew that trying to stop her or even striking up a conversation at the moment could prove dangerous.

After all, an angry Kagome Higurashi was a force to be reckoned with.

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I wasn't planning on starting a new fic so soon, but I had reason to be particularly happy at the moment so here you go! Thanks for reading and please review!


	2. Black

**Title:** Black**  
Series: **InuYasha**  
Parings/Characters:** Kouga and Kagome.**  
Disclaimer:** InuYasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.**  
Rating/Warnings:** T to PG-13, just to be safe.**  
Dedication:** The Kouga and Kagome paring fans out there!**  
Summary:** _His silky black tresses constantly haunted her dreams._

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In the beginning, she had been infatuated. His soft ears had done her in, for sure, but the brash attitude and the constant wariness around her being due to the memories of her predecessor had been the challenge that she had needed at that point in her life.

Now, however, if one were to ask her what her heart longed for the most from the Feudal Era whenever she went back home it would be something entirely different.

Or, technically, someone.

Somewhere down the line, Kagome had stopped dreaming of strong arms bound in red and a breeze blown silver mane and instead begun dreaming of piercing ice blue eyes and a swift, wind whipped rough trail of black hair as soft as silk.

Instead of InuYasha, the man, or should she say demon, that haunted her dreams was Kouga.

He was the one she dreamed of every night, the one she wanted to hold. The one with the black hair she constantly kept an eye out for out of the corner of her eyes as she walked along. She didn't know how he did it, not having shampoo or a condition or even a brush, that she had ever seen, but that black hair of his was as soft as could be and something she could not get out of her mind.

He was also the one who had only treated her with admiration and kindness, once the unpleasant introductions had passed - though, if she had to admit it, most of her first meetings in the Feudal Era were unpleasant, so they didn't always count - unlike InuYasha who only saw her as a jewel detector and replacement for his first beloved. The one who's own kind treated her like a sister, instead of murder-victim-to-be.

It was a fruitless love, she knew. No matter how many times he confessed to her she would never be able to say the same words in reply

Being the leader, he had his clan to care and worry for. It wouldn't exactly do him well to marry a human, despite her status, instead of a demon or even half demon. She wouldn't be surprised if a fight would've broken out between the various clans. He did a betrothed, after all.

And she, Kagome Higurashi, reincarnation of many powerful priestesses, guardian of the Shikon no Tama, had a duty to find and protect the pieces of the powerful jewel as well as destroy Naraku, the most evil of beings after it.

He had his own and she had hers, and somehow, though she knew he would in a moment's notice, she could never ask nor accept him willing to throw himself into her much more dangerous world of blood matted fur and flying arrows.

Though, she could dream about his silky, carefree black hair ever damn night, duties be damned.

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This one came to me rather quickly, surprisingly enough. Hope you enjoyed it!

Thanks for reading and feel free to review, if you've got something to say.


	3. Care

**Title:** Care**  
Series: **InuYasha**  
Parings/Characters:** Kagome, Eri, Yuka and Ayumi. Kagome x InuYasha.**  
Disclaimer:** Rumiko Takahashi owns InuYasha.**  
Rating/Warnings:** T to PG-13, just to be safe. Some spoilers for those who haven't finished the manga, I suppose.**  
Dedication:** Any and all InuYasha x Kagome shippers.**  
Summary:** _Kagome's friends still don't approve of her relationship with InuYasha._

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Kagome found the entire situation laughable.

It had been years since she had seen Ayumi, Eri and Yuka, years since they had talked and years since she had been married to InuYasha. And yet, here were her friends from all that time ago asking her how on earth she could marry someone as horrible as he!

Downright laughable.

Who wouldn't want to marry the man that constantly saved your life and you his? Sure, they argued often. What couple didn't? But they also held each other, talked and appreciated what the other could do. That right there, at the very least, screamed 'romantic' in every single romance movie they were currently quoting at her in hopes of changing her mind.

Sure, she could of dated Hojo. The oblivious boy who worked at - and eventually inherited - his parents pharmacy yet seemed to actually believe that she had been ill with all those lies her grandfather had made up to cover for her. If he was really that dim when it came to an illness, did she really want to give her life to him? It was almost as laughable as the current conversation she was having.

"But isn't he yakuza?! And you said yourself he was super possessive!"

"Yeah, Kagome! How could you be with him, still? Doesn't he still have all those psychological anger issues?!"

Kagome blinked at that statement and shortly after began to giggle. The memory of her attempt to teach InuYasha how to use the microwave when they visited her mother last week was firmly implanted into her mind. Not only had the thing exploded, but she was sure even the dead were awakened with how loud the half demon was cursing!

Her friends stared on in disbelief. How could she take such a thing so lightly?! If old memories wouldn't work, then they decided they were going to have to try a different approach.

"Kagome...",Eri began, not sure entirely how to phrase this without coming off as offensive about her friend's husband.

"What's so good about him?!",Yuka took over, not one who was ever willing to beat around the bush.

Kagome smiled a calm, confident smile.

"He cares."

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I've always felt it a bit odd at how eager Kagome's friends were to jump on the _"InuYasha-hate-train"_.

Thank you for reading and feel free to review!


	4. Dangerous

**Title:** Dangerous**  
Series: **InuYasha**  
Parings/Characters:** Kagome and Shippou, mainly. References to various others in passing.**  
Disclaimer:** Rumiko Takahashi created InuYasha and the characters within the series.**  
Rating/Warnings:** K+**  
Dedication:** The Shippou fans! Isn't he just adorable?**  
Summary:** _Kagome frets upon the danger of it all._

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She knew it was dangerous.

So many things could go wrong. So many things could happen. So many, many 'ifs', 'ands', 'buts' and all sorts of logical points against this kept running through her mind, like a non-stop treadmill.

_What if something happened that she couldn't prevent?_

_What if he can't protect himself?_

_What if someone found out and alerted the media? Or the government?! Worse! A circus!_

_He's not human! It's not safe here for him!_

_Oh, but he could run across some modern demon slayer or exorcist or something!_

_What if he gets lost on the way home?_

_What if the others don't like him?_

_What if the teacher is psychic and can see through the disguise?!_

_What if something so bad happens that the whole family is hunted down? Would they have to flee to the Feudal Era? Would Souta be able to handle it? Mom? Sure, Grandpa would probably love it there, but would they even be safe? Could she protect them from all of her past demons? Naraku was no longer a threat, but there were still plenty of evils out there._

_What if..._

Just then, Shippou ran into the kitchen and danced around her.

"Mama! I'm ready for school now!",he chirped, voice brimming with glee.

Kagome shook her head, banishing all the worrying thoughts and smiled as she took in her adoptive son's new appearance. No longer did he have pointed ears, a bushy little kitsune tail or any other demon resembling features. He looked like a happy, normal, _human_ seven year old boy, ready for his first day of school. The illusion seemed to be firmly in place. No shadows or doubles to speak of. Nothing at all of note that would make one give it a second glance.

"Ah, I tried to do something new with his hair, but it just wouldn't stick.",her mother stated, entering the kitchen. She patted Shippou on the head and took the hot mug full of coffee that her daughter handed to her. "Regardless, he'll have all the girls after him! Don't you think so, Kagome?"

Shippou blushed, glancing downwards. An action which caused Kagome to share a happy look with her mom. "Right, he just looks so handsome!", she gushed, fingering a lock of honey-brown hair. If possible, the young kitsune turned an even deeper shade of crimson.

The raven-haired miko had no idea why she had been worrying so much. The most danger her young son would be in would be running away from all his fangirls. Dangerous, but liveable.

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Maybe eventually we'll get to something fluffy/romantic or some such, but not today!

Thank you for reading and I hope you've enjoyed it! Reviews are appreciated!


	5. Explanation

**Title:** Explanation**  
Series: **InuYasha**  
Parings/Characters:** Kagome and InuYasha.**  
Disclaimer:** InuYasha, the series and character, as well as Kagome, all belong to Rumiko Takahashi.**  
Rating/Warnings:** T or PG-13, just to be safe with the language and a couple of implied scenarios.**  
Dedication:** The InuKag shippers!**  
Summary:** _Kagome tries to come up with some sort of rational, plausible explanation as to why she loves him._

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It was annoying.

So very, very annoying. Almost as annoying as he could be.

Kagome growled in frustration as she plopped down onto the top step of her family's shrine.

For some reason Kagome just couldn't pin down what she really loved about him, InuYasha, the half demon she had awoken from a deep sleep so many months ago. The half demon that constantly berated her and saved her life all in the same moment. The half demon she cared for when ill and sat deep into the ground when stupid. Half the time, she couldn't even figure out why she liked him in the first place!

He was brash. InuYasha never really gave much thought into anything at all, except for right before he did it or, more commonly, not until right after he did it. He never thought about the danger he was in or he was putting others in, just that there was danger and it needed to be dealt with. He rarely considered the feelings of others when speaking, just what he thought was best and what he felt had to be said.

He was stubborn. He never gave up from a fight or argument. He never backed down, because backing down would admit defeat and that just wouldn't do for his ego. He always had to get his way. He always, always knew what was right and that was that! No ifs, ands or buts!

He was foul mouthed.

He had anger management issues.

He couldn't stand children.

He never wanted to slow down.

He loved to fight and ate everything.

He always had to be the first one to save her from danger or he would mope about.

Always the first one to greet her at the well when she came back.

Always near her side.

Okay, so maybe Kagome had an idea of why she liked him.

InuYasha was, after all, brash enough to attempt to force someone to "stop moping around already" - which was really code for, "I am completely out of my depth when it comes to tears! Help!", stubborn enough to keep on them until they were better - because dammit, tears were never going to beat him at anything! -, angry enough when something happened to never let her go without a fight - though, when it came to Kouga, she had a certain feeling that was more of an alpha male thing than love -, patient enough to stay with her even when she used the word of subjugation without explaining why he deserved it - of course, sometimes that was just him wanting an apology - and it had to be said that he felt comfortable enough around her to let Kagome treat his more intimate wounds - but then again he wasn't exactly modest -...

Kagome blinked as various good points sprang forth into her mind and were quickly countered with surprisingly accurate disappointment.

"Argh! The only thing about him I can pin down without a rebuttal is that there's never a dull moment whenever he's around!",she shouted, scaring her cat Buyo from his sleeping perch on the shrine's steps.

Dull, dull, bored, bored, excited, excite-- Wait. No. Exciting, exciting...

Kagome paused and mulled over the words again as Buyo jumped onto her lap.

Well, that was a start. Not a bad one, either. Exciting was good! There was nothing wrong with exciting! Exciting meant that her days would be full of challenges and fun. Exciting meant that there would always be somewhere to go and someone new to meet. Exciting meant that she would never be bored with him.

Exciting was definitely all right.

And, as far as relationships went, there were worse reasons to fall in love.

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As much as I like the paring, sometimes I do have to wonder about it.

Thank you for reading and please, feel free to review!


	6. Focus

**Title:** Focus**  
Series: **InuYasha**  
Parings/Characters:** Kagome and Kouga.**  
Disclaimer:** InuYasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. By default, so does Kagome and Kouga.**  
Rating/Warnings:** T or PG-13, just to be safe with the language and scenarios.**  
Dedication:** The Kouga fangirls and fanboys! Like you never had those images of him in your minds before. Uh-huh. _Sure._**  
Summary:** _Kagome can't focus and it's all his fault._

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Currently, Kagome was laying on her bed, surrounding by scattered supplies for her next trip to the Feudal Era with a glazed over look to her eyes. She couldn't focus - _at all! _- and she was pretty sure it was entirely all a certain wolf demon's fault.

Every time she sat down at her desk, picked up a pencil, opened her math book to where she last left off, flipped a page and positioned herself ready to write his image suddenly flooded her mind.

It wasn't just the same image over and over again either! It was many different images, each one just as or much more distracting than the last. Sometimes his hair was tied back as per usual, sometimes it was down and pretty damn inviting, sometimes it was wet - he was usually sans clothing in that image - and sometimes, _sometimes_, his hair was cut. She didn't know why, but Kouga with a hair cut always made her loose it and she couldn't focus on anything for the rest of the day.

At first it had been annoying and somewhat confusing to Kagome. She liked InuYasha, right? There was absolutely no reason why Kouga should be flooding her mind while their was still school work to catch up on! But, even with absolutely no reason, his image still haunted her during all hours of study.

Since she couldn't study in peace, Kagome took to doing other things that she needed to do before heading back to the Feudal Era in search of jewel shards. She cleaned up her room, organized her first aid box, picked out new outfits to take with her, discarded or cleaned the old ones - really, demon blood was such a pain to get out! - and made a shopping list of non-perishable foods to take with her. And, through-out it all, no fantasy-Kouga images had appeared in her mind.

_Had_ being the key word.

Assuming she was safe, Kagome picked up her pencil, sat down to study, opened her book, positioned herself to write and was immediately bombarded with a rather provocative image of Kouga cleaning her house. Shirtless. In very tight jeans.

so, she shot up out of her seat, closed her book, and began to reorganize all of her supplies for her next trip. Only this time another image of the great wolf demon appeared. He had a shirt on, thankfully, but it was rather tight and - _Oh, God! _Was that mesh?!

Pushing the supplies off her bed and onto the floor, Kagome shook the images out of her head and began to go through her clothes once more. Huh, she'd need a new school uniform or two and, wow, wouldn't Kouga look good in on--where did that come from?!

Groaning, Kagome fell back onto the bed and thus here she was. Had been for hours. Sans focus, eyes glazed over, behind in her studies, surrounded by important supplies and one very sexy, very wet, very naked wolf demon taunting her innermost thoughts, dreams and reactions.

Back in the past, one very wet, very naked wolf demon was, for once, trying desperately to be rid the image of a certain blue-eyed miko laying on something rather girlish and pink out of his mind. Her skirt was hiked up in a rather provocative way and he had a meeting with another tribe leader in less than two hours, dammit!

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I was going to use the word "family" for this drabble. I wonder where _that_ scenario went off too...

Ah, well! Thanks for reading and feel free to review! They're always appreciated!


	7. Grapes

**Title:** Grapes**  
Series: **InuYasha**  
Parings/Characters:** Kagome x InuYasha**  
Disclaimer:** InuYasha and Kagome belong to Rumiko Takahashi.**  
Rating/Warnings:** PG-13 or T for safety towards the end.**  
Dedication:** Those who like the cuter, fluffy side of InuYasha.**  
Summary:** _Kagome introduces InuYasha to a new food._

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It was kind of cute to watch him stare at them like that. He would pick them up, set them down, blink, then circle them, pick them up once more, sniff them cautiously, hold them at arms length, cock his head to the side, then blink and repeat the whole process all over again.

When InuYasha first said he would stay over with her until her tests were done, Kagome was, admittedly, frantic. After all, he had never really done too well in the modern era. He didn't understand the way things worked, nor did he care to try and any time she - or anyone else for that matter - tried to explain something Kagome could practically see it go in one ear and right on out the other.

Not to mention that incident with first her alarm clock and then the microwave. There was also that little event with her hair dryer. Kagome shuddered at the memories.

InuYasha once again repeated the process of picking up and putting down the strange food. It was downright adorable and only succeeded in making her want to tweak his ears all over again. Really, if only he would show this side of him more often then she wouldn't have to spend her free time wondering just what she really liked about him after all.

"Feh",InuYasha finally spoke, taking one of the dark purple grapes off of the bunch and holding it up to eye level with a look of disdain. "How can anyone sustain themselves on something that's no bigger than Myouga?"

Kagome chuckled, rolling her eyes as she took the bunch of grapes from him.

"They're good for you.",she said. The half demon gave her a look not unlike Souta did when her mom first tried to make the claim of broccoli being good for you too. She decided to try a different approach.

"They taste good, too!"

"That's what you said about that ninja food that was _supposed_ to be shrimp! It tasted like horse--"

"They're fun to eat!",Kagome said hastily, not wanting to associate anything disgusting with one of her favourite fruits.

InuYasha's ears perked up slightly. "Fun?",he questioned, glancing down at the bunch of fruit. Up on his inspection of those round, purple fruit balls he never really thought to describe them with the word _"fun"_. Words like "weird" and "ugly" and "foreign" were at the top of his list, though.

"Yes, fun.",she smiled, popping one into her mouth.

InuYasha gave her an incredulous look. "How can food be fun?"

Kagome grinned. "Like this!"

She took one grape off of the bunch and carefully placed it to his lips. He blushed, trying to look annoyed at being hand fed. Kagome's grin turned to an inviting smirk as she placed her mouth over the grape as well. The two began to share a rather sweet kiss, their first of what they both wanted to be many. InuYasha was already considering revising that list of words for the odd, round, purple fruit and hoped she had more modern foods for them to try together.

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I was tempted to do a rather angsty and dark drabble with the word "gone", but I figured I owed people something cute and fluffy. Hope you all have enjoyed it!

Reviews are always appreciated!


	8. Home

**Title:** Home**  
Series: **InuYasha**  
Parings/Characters:** Kagome with passing mentions of various others. Mentions of Kagome x InuYasha.**  
Disclaimer:** Kagome and the series of which she belongs to actually belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.**  
Rating/Warnings:** T or PG-13 for mentioned demon slaying. If you know how the manga ends, then this little story is a wee bit AUish.**  
Dedication:** Uh.. Hmm. General InuYasha fans? Let's go with that.**  
Summary:** _Kagome thinks of home, wherever that may be._

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It didn't strike her until last night's little skirmish against the latest greedy, greater demon after her collection of shards from the infamous Jewel of Four Souls.

Usually, when Kagome was in the midst of fighting off whatever demon was set to attack her and her friends in the Feudal Era, her mind would briefly go back to her family's shrine where all her life she had played games with Souta, teased Buyo, helped out her grandfather, talked with her friends or helped her mother make dinner. Once, a long time ago, she had even greeted her father when he came home from a long, tiring day at work. It was home and she found herself missing it's comfort most when she was in the path of direct danger.

At least, she _had _been missing it all until as of late.

Now, in the midst of battle, when some humanoid shaped pig with a spear brimming of dark energy or towering ogre with a bloody club came at her she wasn't thinking about making cookies with mom or beating Souta at his favourite video game, but instead of what she should cook for dinner that both Shippou and InuYasha would like and if it would be easy enough for whichever one of her little nieces and nephews, courtesy of Sango and Miroku, with their latest loose teeth to eat. Or whether or not she had enough of those really rare herbs she had found on her latest midnight romp with InuYasha to bring back to Kaede.

Sometimes, her mind would completely space out and all Kagome could think of was InuYasha's strong yet gentle and warm arms holding her close while everyone else was asleep but them as her grip on her bow increased as she released another perfect arrow straight into the center of her opponents head.

It would seem, despite how much she loved her family back in modern times, here, in this time of the many years before, Kagome was absolutely and truly home.

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This idea has been on my mind for a while and now it's out! Whee!

Hope you enjoyed the quick read and feel free to review, if you're up to it.


	9. Irenic

**Title:** Irenic**  
Series: **InuYasha**  
Parings/Characters:** Kagome. Hints at Kagome and a possible someone of the male gender as a paring.**  
Disclaimer:** Kagome and the series of which she belongs to actually belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.**  
Rating/Warnings:** PG or K+. I don't think there's anything in here that's even vaguely naughty.**  
Dedication:** Those who like fics or ficlets that leave you guessing.**  
Summary:** _Kagome is completely and utterly at peace._

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Kagome may not of been an A+ student, especially now that she spent most of her time between two different eras, but she had always thought of herself as a rather smart individual. She could learn things quite easily, recall memories on the fly, write a three page essay an hour before class was due to begin and recognize every plant and it's herbal properties that she passed on her way to school. She wasn't dumb by any sense of the word.

However, at this moment, Kagome couldn't even begin to describe what she was feeling. It was all so much, no one word did it justice.

She was going oh, so fast and though she should of been feeling fear it just wasn't there! She felt excitement, adrenaline maybe, and yet a secure comfort as all of her surroundings blew her by.

The wind was wisping around her in it's wild ways, misplacing strands of her hair from their previously set style and tickling her ears with the whispers that it carried. Her heart beat increased, adding a steady beat to the many soft whispers that buzzed through her head and the quickly passing melodies of the many wondrous creatures that took up residence in the forest. Scents from all about rushed by her, from roses to pine to water to food from near by villages. Her senses were completely and utterly overwhelmed.

She should of been panicking in fear or screaming with delight or reacting in some other sort of frenzied manner, but here she was. Completely at peace, centered, one with where she was and what was happening, never wanting it to end.

After all, how could anyone ever feel anything to the contrary while being within the grasp of a guy like him? Kagome Higurashi was smart enough to know that she couldn't.

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Nothing much, just another wee drabble. I apologize for the lack of length in these recent chapters, but college is dishing out essays for me to write left and right and, sorry to say, but those take priority.

Thanks for reading and please feel free to review!


	10. Just

**Title:** Just**  
Series: **InuYasha**  
Parings/Characters:** Kagome with mentions of various other characters. Hints at Kagome x Hojo.**  
Disclaimer:** Kagome, Hojo and the series of InuYasha belong to Rumiko Takahashi.**  
Rating/Warnings:** T to PG-13, to be on the safe side of things. Angsty. Some minor character bashing.**  
Dedication:** Kagome and Hojo fans, whether as individuals or in a paring.**  
Summary:** _Kagome can only be Kagome._

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_'Kagome Higurashi. What's so bad about that?'_,she pondered, sitting a top the steps of her family temple. It was a chilly winter morning, late morning technically, the kind of morning that often begged the question as to why anyone would want to be awake and about instead of under the covers or relaxing at a kotatsu.

Lately, just like the chill of this morning, Kagome had been feeling a lack of warmth on a more spiritual level. It was as if her heart had suddenly become dull, and it worried the young girl. She had thought long and hard, meditated even, through out everything that had been happening in her life and came to the painful conclusion late last night before bed.

No one saw her as Kagome anymore. And that hurt.

Her modern friends - Eri, Yuka and Ayumi - all saw her as a passing classmate that might be in attendance and had tons of juicy gossip for them to pick through like some sort of scavenger bird. She couldn't blame them, at least not too much, for acting like that, but it still hurt. She hadn't been at school for a long while, always busy with her escapades in the Feudal Era or miko duties at home. It was only natural that they'd drift apart, but did they have to treat her like that? Like each time they saw her, they were seeing someone new or radically different? They didn't try to talk to her about the newest episodes of the latest drama on television or chat needlessly about music or clothes. They just talked around her. Using her whatever she said to take, mold and pervert into their own fantasies to share with her other classmates.

To them she wasn't Kagome Higurashi but Toy Kagome, who came complete with her own accessories and various catch phrases! "_To record your own unique message, just press the red button and you're all set!"_

Frowning now, Kagome cast a wary look to the Goshinboku. As much as she loved the tree and nearly all it stood for - Kikyou would forever be a mar upon her thought process -, she deeply hoped she wouldn't have to revisit it's earlier years for at least a few more days.

Oh, she loved her friends in the Feudal Era, but she wasn't too sure if the same could be said about them in reference to her.

Sango and Miroku both saw her as Problem Solver and Little Sister Kagome, a nice change from being the elder sibling, but not much past that. They acknowledge her skills to a degree, but never really saw her for her. They both saw her as an, probably the, answer to their demonic problems. Someone to protect, because losing the key to the chest just wasn't going to happen. The fact that all three of them could get along to a pleasant degree was just an added bonus. Kagome knew even if they had hated her down to her core, they would stay with her so as to see an end to the horrible fairy tale they lived. That was the reason they lived, after all and she wasn't sure if it hurt more knowing that or less when she took into account the fact that they did really care about her.

Shippou saw her as Adoptive Mother Kagome, the woman he desperately needed for guidance and loved as much as she loved him in return. She knew though, that when she wasn't there he didn't miss her as much as he led her to believe. Maybe in the beginning, but as time grew on he knew he could trust the others that were there, that they would lead him to the right path. She couldn't be upset with her kit growing up, but the idea that she would never see him again - after all, where was he in her time if they were so close? - and he wouldn't want to see her nearly drove her to tears each time she thought about it.

She knew, and so far none had proved her wrong, that all InuYasha saw her as was Jewel Detector Kagome, the girl who pointed him in the right direction to hack and slash all of his frustrations away in some sort of macho display of idiocy. He never thought of her as possibly anything more than an old fashioned radar, never made notice to her growing skills as an archer, never noted upon her spiritual power as a miko - lest he suddenly found himself imbedded several feet into the earth he was previously standing upon -, never gazed at her with love or desire in his eyes. She was just there to point the way and occasionally tug on the leash towards the path that didn't lead them to a quick death.

Kagome sighed, leaning back against the side railing to the steps and turned her gaze upwards to her family home. At least, for the most part, he family understood. Sort of.

To her mom, she was Action Daughter Kagome, her little girl who was capable of slaying demons, time travel and looked absolutely beautiful in knee-length sun-dresses, despite the arm bandages. It hurt her to realize that as much as she loved her mom, Kagome would never be able to fully share or ask advice for all of her troubles any more. Really, she didn't know who to turn to for advice with getting demon guts out of a fine silk kimono or what the best herbs would be to use in a demon-killing poison that also acted as an antidote for humans.

Her brother, Souta, just saw her as Dog Keeper Kagome, the big sister who could bring his super hero and role model home from the past to talk to and play with. That fact was both amusing, for the fact that InuYasha would be so insulted by the implications of such a title, and saddening as her little brother could never see her as someone to go to for a real problem or brother-sister chat any more.

And as far as her grandfather was concerned, well, she was Modern Miko Kagome, a girl with ancient power who would do well for the family temple in ways both spiritual and marketable. His actions didn't really surprise her, if she was to be honest, because as often as Kagome could remember her grandfather had been bestowing his, often wrong, knowledge of demons, spirituality, chants and all the likes she had been learning first hand, not to mention correctly, in her travels.

It still hurt a bit though, because she wasn't any of those things. She was just Kagome! She may of hunted demons, saved souls, kept a certain hanyou in line, found slivers of ancient mystical artifacts and attended high school, but she was still Kagome! Ka. Go. Me!

_Crunch!_

At the sound of approaching steps, the raven-haired young woman shook herself out of her saddened reflections and schooled her face to a calm expression. No sense in scaring off a visitor. With a quiet sigh, Kagome glanced up only to come face to face with pink. Lots and lots of pink. An unusual sight, given that it was winter and white was the dominant colour about.

"Wh-what?",she blinked, surprised at the sudden appearance of roses that blocked her view.

"Surprise!",came a familiar, laughing male voice.

Kagome stood up and took the roses, becoming even more shocked as she took in the sight of the person they were from. Hojo.

"They're your favourite, right?",he explained, still smiling. "I saw them and thought of you."

"Yes, but why?",she asked, as perplexed as ever.

Hojo frowned in response, scratching his head. "Well, do I really need a reason? They just fit you, Kagome. I..I kind of hoped you would've liked them."

Kagome sniffed the sweet petals and couldn't stop the smile that appeared on her face.

"I do."

The brown haired young man perked up considerable at her smile. "Great! Hey, I have to stop by the apartment complex down the block for a delivery, but did you want to go somewhere afterwards?"

Taking in a deep breath, Kagome cast a wary gaze at the cheerful young man in front of her. She had known Hojo for a few years now, not as well as she would've liked, but well enough. He never asked anything from her. He never said anything bad towards her. He helped her study whenever she was back in this time and they both had a spare moment. However, none of that answered her deepest question; What did he see her as?

"Kagome?",Hojo asked, concern lacing his voice as he leaned in closer to the raven-haired young woman standing before him.

Startled, she glanced up into his eyes. They were sincere, bright with an edge of worry traced into the outer lines. They were looking straight at her, into her. Only her. _Just her._

Another smile, the second true smile to appear in over a week, made it's way onto her face as she nodded.

"Yes.",she nodded. "I'd really like that."

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Angsty angst is angst with happy!Kagome at the end! Hope this makes up for the rather short ficlets I've been submitting lately.

As always, thank you for reading and feel free to review!


	11. Knowledge

**Title:** Knowledge**  
Series: **InuYasha**  
Parings/Characters:** Kagome, with various others in passing.**  
Disclaimer:** All characters, as well as the InuYasha series, belong to Rumiko Takahashi.**  
Rating/Warnings:** PG or K+.**  
Dedication/Notes:** For those who have kept up with this story so far!**  
Summary:** _Kagome is quite knowledgeable._

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Kagome Higurashi, despite rarely attending her high school classes, is quite knowledgeable.

She knows from being a bit of a bookworm just enough to pass her classes with a grade suitable to her teacher's satisfaction. She knows that, even if her friends are naive enough to believe her grandfather's lies, her teachers are not anywhere near as gullible. By studying as often as she does, Kagome knows that they will not bother her nor her family with questions for a while longer.

Kagome knows that, regardless of her various absences, her friends will still keep her updated on all the latest - not to mention useless - hall way gossip whenever she eventually shows up. She knows that - even if she can no longer put a face to all the names of those classmates she no longer sees - all the meaningless rumours and stories keep her sane while she's away from her Feudal family.

Kagome knows that soon she will have to leave again. She knows that even though she loves all of her friends in the Feudal era, the one she wants to see the most is her adoptive son. She knows that he has been busy, practicing all sorts of new techniques and keeping InuYasha in line like no one else can.

She knows that Sango - her sister in all but birth - has been keeping a watchful eye over both her boys and Miroku - her brother in all but birth, occasional flirtatious moments aside - will be there to stop Sango from beating up InuYasha too badly when he says something stupid to her or Shippou. She knows that InuYasha, though he will say to the contrary, will be happy she's back just as much as the others. She knows that barely a day will pass before he says something so hurtful she'll want to return to her family's shrine and cry her eyes out in the safety of her own bed. She knows that InuYasha won't even realize what he's done, and Sango will have to beat the sense into him as Shippou insults him and Miroku lectures.

Kagome knows that even though it fills her with guilt, and is sometimes painful, she could never stop living in the past. Not even if sometimes, rare times, she does miss the future.

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Thank you for reading and please feel free to review!


	12. Long

**Title:** Long**  
Series:** InuYasha**  
Parings/Characters:** Kagome, Eri, Yuka and Ayumi. No real paring hints.**  
Disclaimer:** Rumiko Takahashi owns the series of InuYasha, and, therefore, all the characters mentioned in this drabble.**  
Rating/Warnings:** T to PG-13, just to be safe. A lot of immature innuendo.**  
Dedication/Notes:** For those who have friends like this. What can you do, but carefully plot revenge?**  
Summary:** _Kagome longs for more pleasant conversation._

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For the fifteenth, but certainly not the last time that night, Kagome cursed the immaturity that surrounded any and every conversation she ever had with her school friends.

It was times like these that Kagome really longed for the mature discussion on improved battle tactics with Sesshoumaru or fun, yet silly, debates on which vegetable was better in the night's pasta dish with InuYasha. She missed the late night talks with Sango that often consisted of nothing more than meaningless chats about dreams and memories, but were always full of respect and mutual understanding. She even found herself missing the history lessons Miroku told to Shippou and Rin - disguised as fairy tales, of course.

"So, Kagome...",Eri began innocently, as Yuka and Ayumi snickered in the background, the latter nearly choking on her slice of cake. "How big is InuYasha's _sword_ again?"

Yuka couldn't help but giggle as if all four of the girls were five years old again and playing a princess game. "Yeah, Kagome! It was quite _long_, wasn't it?"

Ayumi's eyes actually managed to gleam in the cafe's soft lighting. "So _long_, in fact, that you couldn't quite get your hands _around_ it, right?",she stated with a saucy tone that belied her normally gentle and naive personality.

"I told you once and that's all there is to it!"

Silence enveloped the table as Eri, Ayumi and Yuka stared at Kagome in mild surprise at the outburst. Unfortunately, the peace didn't last.

"Well, that must be _disappointing_.",Ayumi stated with a melodramatic sigh. Eri and Yuka could no longer suppress their amusement to mere snickers and nearly fell to the floor in their laughter.

Kagome's face grew red hot with the stares she felt coming from the other patrons. Twitching, she reached over for the menu. Milkshakes just weren't going to do it for tonight. No, she was going to need something a little bit stronger to survive this outing in the modern world.

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This little drabble was inspired by a three-way conversation I had a while back with a good friend of mine and one of her other friends. Somehow - I'm not sure how, really - the topic of internet providers came up and I ventured forth information that I used to have _"Cox"_.

Sound it out, people. It sounds just like another name for more than one rooster.

Needless to say, the laughter continued for the duration of the conversation and was hinted of for weeks afterwards. Oh, well~ What are friends for if they can't find simple ways to embarrass you endlessly?

Anywho, thanks for reading and please feel free to review!


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